How Do You Get To Antarctica Without Crossing The Drake Passage?

How Do You Get To Antarctica

Without Crossing The Drake Passage?

Despite the fact that visiting Antarctica had been on our World Travel Bucket List for years, we didn’t include the continent on our 2012 travel wish list for one simple reason: I suffer from serious seasickness that no combination of Dramamine and ginger could conquer. So how do you get to Antarctica without crossing the dreaded Drake Passage?

It wasn’t until late October, when we were approached by Adventure Lifeabout the possibility of traveling on a small-ship cruise with their partners at Antarctica XXI, that we learned it was possible to fly a chartered plane from Punta Arenas, Chile to King George Island, which boasts the only airport in Antarctica. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But NOTHING about Antarctica is simple…

The Argentinean Air Force’s Hercules C130

When we got back to Punta Arenas after our time in Torres del Paine National Park, we received some bad news: The previous week’s Antarctica cruise had been cancelled due to 11cm of ice on the King George Island Airport’s short landing strip, and there was still too much ice on the runway for Antarctica XXI’s BAe-146 to land safely.

The good news? Rather than cancel another trip, the company had worked out an agreement with Argentina’s Air Force to fly us over in a Hercules C130– an agreement which required approval from the Office of Argentina President Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner! So we set out the next morning on buses, making the drive from Punta Arenas north into Patagonia, then east to the border of Argentina. We waited about 2 hours, as customs agents went through nearly 60 passports, before making our way to Río Gallegos, the capital of the province of Santa Cruz.

After an overnight stay, we finally made it to Piloto Civil Norberto Fernández International Airport, where we watched as the Air Force airmen (and women) loaded our suitcases into the back hatch of the plane. The energy among the passengers was extremely high, partly from our 24-hour delayed departure, partly from the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly in a freakin’ military aircraft, and partly because we simply couldn’t wait to get to Antarctica. At one point, I thought our poor Antarctica XXI handlers might snap from the unrelenting pressure.

The Cramped Quarters on Board the Hercules C130

Finally, after everyone changed into snow gear and waterproof Wellingtons (thankfully provided by the tour operator), it was time to board the Hercules. We had no idea what to expect, so I’m sure fairly certain our eyes were popping when we saw the knee-to-knee jump seats the airmen had installed for us.

The cabin was buzzing with excitement as people strapped themselves in and took photos to document the unique experience. Having heard from our new friend (and fellow passenger) Jeff that these planes were extremely loud, Mary and I had brought earplugs for the ride, which helped lower the cacophonous din of the 4 massive turboprop engines to a manageable dull roar.

Our Cabin Crew, the Argentinean Air Force

It was insane having Argentinean Air Force personnel as our flight crew, ushering us to our seats, helping us figure out the seat belts, and even passing out in-flight service. The day before, we’d gotten no snacks or drinks on the 5-hour bus ride from Chile to Argentina. But somehow, they’d managed to arrange for us to have 2-liter bottles of soda and snack packs to pass around on the Hercules! The entire experience felt more than a little surreal.

It wasn’t the most comfortable flight we’ve ever taken. The gentleman seated next to me was practically in my lap, and the weird nature of the fabric jump seats meant you were usually off balance or bumping into the person next to you (and, in my case, behind me). But it was mercifully short– about two hours– and the coolness of the adventure vastly outweighed the minor inconveniences of being a day late to Antarctica.

On the Ground at King George Island’s Teniente R. Marsh Airport

Finally the plane began its descent, and we saw the South Shetland Islands in the distance. Everyone started passing their cameras to those fortunate enough to be seated by the windows in hopes of getting bird’s-eye-view snapshots of the snow-covered islands, and craning their necks for our first glimpse of the icebergs that dotted the ocean.

Finally, after four days of travel (one from Atlanta to Santiago, one from Santiago to Punta Arenas, one from Punta Arenas to Río Gallegos, and one to Antarctica), our longtime travel dream was about to come true! Our hearts were pounding in our chests as the plane touched down on the icy runway, engaged its powerful reverse thrusters and came to a stop. I couldn’t help feeling a little impatient as we grabbed our backpacks, walked down the steps and waited by huge snowdrifts for our fellow passengers to disembark.

Hiking a few hundred yards through snow (in which you’d occasionally sink up to your knees), we made our way past the famous Frei Station and to the icy shore. There, our naturalist guides passed out life preservers and helped us board the Zodiacs that would take us to the Ocean Nova, our home away from home for what would prove to be an incredible Antarctic adventure we will never forget… –by Bret Love; photos by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett

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54 Responses to How Do You Get To Antarctica Without Crossing The Drake Passage?

This is amazing. I would love to go to Antarctica, and in a military aircraft?!? EVEN BETTER! I hope I get a chance to work with Adventure Life in the near future. I keep hearing great things about them!

Yeah, I’m a big dude (6’2″, built like a linebacker), so it wasn’t the most comfy airplane ride ever. But thoughts of discomfort were definitely outweighed by the feeling of “Holy crap, we’re flying in a plane with the freakin’ Air Force!!!” I’m guessing that will probably never, ever happen again, so we tried to savor the uniqueness of the experience.

So THAT’s what you get when you suffer from seasickness… Like, the coolest thing ever!! So unique! Totally Maverick. Maybe one day, I too shall sit in an army aircraft by unexplainable circumstances. You can’t give up hope just because it’s hopeless.

You know, I can’t honestly say that riding in a military aircraft was on my “Must Do” list, but now that we’ve done it was definitely one of our more unique travel experiences. And, coming from a guy who sang for the Pope in the Vatican, that’s saying something! 😉

Yeah, we were really glad, too. We were really unsure whether or not we’d be able to make it to Antarctica at all, given the weather conditions, so it was a HUGE relief when we found out that they’d made alternative arrangements for transport. Kudos to the Antarctica XXI staff for quick action in the face of challenging obstacles.

Wow, that’s wild! Also, have you tried the Scopolamine patches? A godsend for anyone who gets motion sickness. Two years ago, I couldn’t go on a half an hour ferry ride without puking, then I got my doctor to give me some of the patches and I lived on a ship that circumnavigated the globe for four months and wasn’t seasick once!

I looked into Scopolamine before we went to Antarctica, but unfortunately the patches were not covered by my insurance and were somewhat pricey. We ended up going with some drops given to us by a friend, which worked very well. But I’m still really glad we didn’t do the Drake Passage!

For me.. this kind of trip i.e. Visit to Antarctica is definitely thrilling and full of adventures for which every traveler craves. You guys were lucky enough to reach over there even after the cancellations and other circumstances. By the way how much was the temperature in Antarctica? Thanks

The temperature varied pretty wildly from day to day, and sometimes from hour to hour. It was always really cold first thing in the morning, but once the sun was overhead it often warmed up to around 40ºF. But if clouds came in or you were on the Zodiac, it became very cold very quickly, and on our last day (when there was a snowstorm) it was well below freezing. We’ll have an upcoming post about how to prepare for a trip to Antarctica, which will include what to pack and how the temps can vary.

Thanks Bret and Mary for the immediate response, I wonder how would it be feeling with such rapid changes in the temperature! Watching snowstorm in Antarctica would be much different than the snowstorms in regular places. The How TO Post regarding the preparations for Antarctica trip is definitely worth to read, I’ll be curiously waiting for such post! Ahh.. one more question, if the temperature gets too below the freezing point and in that case , if someone is hungry and thirsty what could be best diet for that person? I mean what was your diet composed of, over there?

Because we were on a ship and didn’t camp on land, there was never any worry about food. You’d go out on Zodiacs for shore excursions twice a day, then came back to the ship at meal times. There were often snacks available in the bar/lounge area in between meals as well. So it wasn’t really a concern.

I figured we’d get around to visiting Antarctica eventually, and maybe I’d get something prescribed for seasickness. But when I found you could do 2 hours on a plane rather than 2-3 days (each way) on a boat with 20-30 foot waves crossing the Drake, I was like, “SIGN ME UP!!!”

so cool. i loved the icy polar jump freak out and this, this is too cool. what a wonderful experience for you two. i’m so happy you got to have one of your life dreams come true. i love it how that happens to us, one tiny step at a time. argentina soldiers and awesome plane and all. what a great adventure! thanks for sharing guys.

Very cool. My sister used to be in the air force (She now works for NATO – yes, I’m proud:-) and she always used to talk about hopping on a herc to hitch a ride somewhere and she hated it. Glad you enjoyed your flight, it was definitely an adventure! And so glad that you got to avoid the dreaded sea sickness

Yeah, me too! I was pretty miserable for several of the nights we did big ocean crossings in the Galapagos. The fact that we were on the bottom level of the ship right next to the engine room didn’t help.

Hi guys great article! Would love to do that next time I head to Antarctica but I love being at sea too much. We did the Drake Passage a few years and LOVED it. Just that epic first sighting of the white land. Great website and safe travels, Jonny

Wow! It was really hard adventures. I thought that Asia is extreme…NO! Antarctica is really extreme! I’m respect your bravery to decide on such a journey!!!Alex Cardo recently posted..Christopher Columbus Facts